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AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: YANKEES VS ASTROSOctober 13, 2019Carlos CorreaJustin VerlanderHouston, Texas - postgame 2 Houston - 3, New York - 2 (11) Q. Since you joined this team you've been in several of these games, Game 2 of the World Series, Game 5 of the World Series, Game 2 of the ALCS against the Yankees a couple years ago. What's it like when you're a part of this, you're pitching, and then watching and it gets that tight and then all of a sudden it's over? JUSTIN VERLANDER: I think it's taken years off my life, that's for sure. These moments are -- I mean, just to -- I think every championship run when you look back, at least from my experience, there's always moments throughout the course of a ball game or series or how did we win that game, what happened. And I think tonight is nothing short of that. I think from what our bullpen was able to do to the play that Carlos made on the hard hit ball from Gardner that bounced off him, picking that up bare-handed, and throwing a strike to home and shutting down the run there, and to him hitting the walk-off homer. This was an incredible baseball game. It's nerve-racking. For me being in it, I feel much more calm. And the second I'm out of it, it's a completely different atmosphere; I'm pacing, I can't hardly watch. It's tough. Q. Just a follow-up on Carlos's throw home. Obviously you were very excited about that. Just from your vantage point, when you saw that ball clank over toward him, what was your reaction? JUSTIN VERLANDER: I mean, the gut instinct was, Crap. And then I saw Carlos coming over. I know how tremendous his arm is. So I've seen him -- I mean, your timing, your instincts in this game, as long as we've played this game, you kind of know when something is going to be tight or when the guy is going to be safe or the guy is going to be out. And I've seen him cut down guys in certain situations with his arm where I think it's going to be a close call or I think the guy is going to be safe. The second I saw him coming over and make a clean catch of the ball and come up and ready to throw, honestly I thought he was out. It went from, Crap, to, We got this guy, we got an extra out. It was just incredible. Q. What does it mean to you all to have those fans still staying here that late, going over into the next day to celebrate this victory? CARLOS CORREA: It means the world to us to see all the guys out there, all the fans out there staying late. It was Sunday, they've got to go to work tomorrow. It really means a lot to us. The energy they bring to us day-in and day-out has been unbelievable. We've never seen anything like it. It's even better than '17. We're very grateful and we hope to get going and seeing them out there. Q. Carlos, we talked before the game you were confident about getting your offensive rhythm back. What does it mean to go out and contribute in such a big way? CARLOS CORREA: I'm glad you remembered. Yesterday I felt like my timing was getting back to where it should be. And then my cage work today was amazing. And I was very confident going into the game that today was the day where I was going to break out. I had some good at-bats. And going into that last inning I thought, I got this. I feel like I got this. And I had the right approach against him, I've been successful against him going the other way. And that's what I try to do, I saw a good pitch down the middle and I drove the other way. Q. Can you just expand on that a little, just seeing that last pitch, exactly what you saw, the emotion after you hit it, did you know right away? CARLOS CORREA: Yeah, as soon as I hit it I knew it was going to go over the fence. The adrenaline started pumping like crazy. I don't even know what I did. I've got to go watch the video. But I know I was so hyped. Seeing my teammates running out of the dugout to the home plate while I was still standing there was pretty awesome. Obviously it's a moment that's going to live with me forever. Q. Justin, is this the best team you ever played in your life? Carlos, in English, and please answer in Spanish: Is this the most important hit of your life? JUSTIN VERLANDER: Played against or with? That's a tough question. I've been a part of some pretty special ball clubs. I guess you can't really answer that question until it's all said and done. If we come away with what we're hoping to accomplish then maybe, yeah. CARLOS CORREA: (Answering in Spanish.) Q. Can you talk about just having the kind of defense that you had behind you, the kind of confidence that gives you going through a game with these guys? JUSTIN VERLANDER: Yeah, I mean, it's incredible. I texted these guys the other night and just wanted to let them know how special I think they are and what confidence they instill in me. You make a mistake and more often than not they're able to make a tremendous play, whether it's Carlos ranging a hole with his arm or Altuve laying out and showing his range or Bregman going deep in the gap and turning and making some jump throw. It's crazy. Almost night-in and night-out you see some incredible defensive play, and I'm just talking about our infielders. Our outfielders are really special athletes, as well. Yes, to answer your question, it gives me tremendous confidence. Q. Carlos, can you take us through that play where you threw the runner out at home, what you saw, what your responsibility is on a play like that? CARLOS CORREA: Yes, of course as an infielder I know how tough it is to catch a ball that's a line drive right at you in between. So as soon as I knew that it was going to crash in between I was creeping over. When it hit him and I saw the ball go my way I just went after it. And I grabbed it and when I looked up and I saw he was sending the runner, I thought, Oh, I got this guy. So I threw him out. I don't know why he send him, but, thank you. Q. Could you go through the last at-bat on the homer and also the ball you hit in the 5th looked like it had a great shot to go out. Did you think that ball was out off the bat? CARLOS CORREA: Yeah, when I hit that ball I thought it was going to go. But I guess I'm not strong enough to go to that part of the ballpark. The last at-bat I had to take it to right field, it's a lot closer. Q. How big is it for you guys to win this game, knowing that you go to New York and have Gerrit on the mound next game? CARLOS CORREA: It's huge. It's huge. We came to the ballpark knowing we had to win this game, no matter how we had to win this game. JV on the mound and I knew our lineup was going to do what we do throughout the whole year, and that's put great at-bats together as a team. And we were able to do that today and we got the win. Q. Carlos, what has this year been like for you? You came off last year, which was frustrating, you had the injuries, you wanted to play in two games, you weren't able to, you had injuries, you've been questioned, and now you just had a huge walk-off for this team? How have you been able to continue to believe in yourself and reach this moment? CARLOS CORREA: It's just the confidence I have in myself. I know what kind of player I am when I'm healthy. It's been a roller coaster of a year with the injuries and stuff. But that doesn't stop me from keep working hard, keep doing everything I have to do to stay on the field, to play with my teammates. Moments like this like tonight make everything worth it. Nights of hard work, doing my rehab, not missing anything, it's all worth it when you look at moments like this. Q. A lot of guys said they were telling you in the dugout that you were going to be the hero. How does it feel to have that confidence -- that they have that confidence? But also what's going through your mind as you're doing that jog around the bases? Because you seemed pretty pumped and had all kind of different moves there. CARLOS CORREA: Yeah, I guess I told every hitter in the line that I was feeling great today and that my swing was back and everything. It was a positive day today in the cage, like I said before, so I was very confident going into the game. In the last inning, everybody was telling me, You're going to hit it, you're going to hit a home run. Alex Cintron, our hitting coach, said, Hey, look for a fast one in the middle and take it deep. So, you know, when I was running the bases I wasn't even thinking, to be honest. I was just enjoying the moment, listening to the fans and how loud they were. It was a special moment. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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